Farm to Table helped to found the Southwest Marketing Network, serves on the Steering Committee, and acts as a lead partner.
The Southwest Marketing Network’s quarterly newsletter
Read the latest
or past issues >
Programs > Southwest Marketing Network
Expanding Markets for Southwest Small-Scale, Alternative & Minority Producers
Planning is underway for three Southwest Marketing Network conferences across the region to be held in 2013 with a focus on Farm to School, Farm to Institution, Sustainable Food Systems, and related topics. Planning committee members and participants in the 2013 forums include Tribal, Colonias, farming and ranching communities. Check back for more information.
About the Southwest Marketing Network
Founded in 2002, the Southwest Marketing Network’s purpose is to improve the economic viability of limited resource and traditionally underserved farmers, ranchers, and organizations providing services for producers and communities to preserve and enhance local food systems in the four corners’ states (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado).
Farm to Table plays a unique role in the Network by providing consultation to members of the Network in other states and Tribal communities in a wide range of areas including, farmers’ market development in Tribal communities, working with grass-fed ranching operations to coordinate marketing efforts, specific training and technical assistance in season extension, and production and business planning for new market opportunities.
Because New Mexico was the first of the southwestern states to have a food policy council, the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council (add link to NM Food & Ag Policy Council landing page), nascent groups in other states have requested trainings on policy council development in areas such as Alamosa and Boulder, Colorado as well as in Phoenix, Arizona. Farm to Table also helped with the development of the approved Colorado Food and Agriculture Policy Council.
Over the years the Network’s scope of work has expanded and evolved bringing together diverse sectors of the food system for networking and strategizing through annual conferences, farm and ranch tours and mentor programs, newsletters, and on the ground “model” projects.
The Southwest Marketing Network website provides valuable information on agricultural business planning and management, marketing skills, alternative energy resources and more.